(Jan 3 – Jan 6)
Initially, our stay in Mexico was meant to be for 3 days in Mexico city only. However, as we spoke to various people during that time everyone told us that we had to visit Oaxaca. We were told that Oaxaca was well known for its cultural heritage and its contribution to Mexican cuisine. That was us sold, we had to go.
We landed in Oaxaca fairly late on 3rd Jan and stayed in a little hotel in the centre of town for the first night. After breakfast we decided to check out the Zocalo (town square) and find a good coffee spot to plan our day.
On our way out we noticed a flier in the hotel reception area for a walking food tour called Oaxaca Eats, and thought what better way to start our visit than walking around the charming town and sampling some highlights of their famous food? 3 hrs later we met at the colourful Oaxaca sign in the center of town and started our tour with Dean and Kay (the owners), Teresa (the tour guide) and another couple from Germany who joined us as guests.
The aim of the tour is to sample many of the local, traditional food types. The menu for the day included many different items such as tacos, guacamole, enchiladas, pozole, chorizo, local cheeses, custom made salsas and even extended to chapulines (toasted grasshoppers). As part of the tour we also got to sample some of the local mezcal from the area. Mezcal is an artisanal alcoholic drink made by many small distilleries. It is similar to tequila, just with a much smokier flavour.
After the food tour we collected our bags and checked in to our new accommodation for the rest of our time in Oaxaca. It was a lovely little cottage – a bit further out of town, but most importantly it was cheaper than the hotel. This was our base for the next 2 nights.
The following day we did a full day tour out of town that first involved Alika booking a taxi back into town, in Spanish! Armed with Google translate, and a sheet of paper with the intended dialogue, it only took 6 minutes (instead of 1 as we found out the next day) to successfully book one.
The tour included visits to Tule Tree (about 2000 years old and has the widest trunk in the world), some old ruins, a textile/rug making facility (which is actually a lot more interesting than it sounds), a mezcal distillery, and Hierve Al Agua – a natural spring on the side of a mountain with natural pools and incredible salt formations (this was the real reason for the tour).
The tree was average and the ruins were fairly cool. The rug weaving was an unexpected surprise. They showed us the full process of spinning the wool into yarn, how they produce the various colors (from only natural items, such as a grey parasitic bug that feeds on the cactus but produces a brilliant red color when crushed – not its blood), and the weaving process. Dylan even got to try his hand at spinning the yarn! If QS’ing doesn’t work out perhaps we can go into weaving…
Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos of the finished rugs in their gallery/sales room, but they were very impressive, especially once you understand the amount of work and time that goes into them.
Hierve Al Agua was the highlight of the tour. It is a natural spring on the side of a small mountain with pools that people can swim in. From the car park it just looks like 2 or 3 pools with people swimming, but if you’re willing to take a bit of a hike down the path it will reveal an amazing view of stalactite structures that have slowly over the years worked their way down the side of the mountain.
We finished the tour at the mezcal distillery. It was interesting to see the full process for making mezcal, the different cactuses (cacti?) that they use and also the difference between mezcal and tequila. This was a good end to the tour and helped us sleep very well.
The following day (5th Jan) we packed our bags and headed to the airport. Next stop – Yucatan Peninsula!
Wandering Watsons 